Powdered-material tank car



Aug. 10 ,.1926. 1,595,152

A. .1, GRINDLE POWDERED MATERIAL TANK CAR Filed June 24, 1925 Patented Aug. "10, 1926.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

AUBREY J. GRINDLE, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO GRINDLE FUEL EQUIP- MENT COMPANY, OF HARVEY, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

IPOWDERED-MATERIAL TANK CAB.

Application filed June 24, 1925.

This invention relates to tank cars adapted for use on railroads and the like for containing and transporting powdered, easily Wind blown, material from one point to another, and a means for rendering the powdered material unloadable without manual handling of the powdered material contained in said cars.

The object of-the invention is to provide a deviceof this class which can be comparatively easily and cheaply made; which is satisfactory in use and is not readily liable to get out of order.

More particularly the invention consists in a device of this class in which the tank can be elevated to an unusually sharp inclination, thus securing ready discharge of the powdered materialtherefrom, and in special means, particularly located at the discharge station for so elevating the tank.

The invention further consists in numer ous features and details of construction which-will be hereafter more fully set forth in the specification and claims.

Referring to the drawings in which like and wheels 12 of conventional form, travers' ing track 14isprovided. Except for the fact that the longitudinal sills are re' stricted in width, as shown in Figure 2, to allow room at the side of the car for the depression of the discharge port 16 of the tank 18, pivotally mountedto one end of the car on transverse shaft 20, carried by the sills 10 of the car frame, the car is quite conventional.

Tank 18 is of conventional, tubular, specifically cylindrical form, except at the end adjacent to pivotal connection 20, where it is provided with'a conical discharge end 22, distorted sideways as shown in Figure 3 so that in the depressed dotted line position of Figure 1, the discharge port 16 will clear the Serial N0. 39,299.

sides 'of'the sills 10 of the car and is therefore depressible to the dotted line position of Figure 1 below the tops of the sills, thus permltting a much greater elevation of the rear end 24 of the tank 18 than would be otherwise possible; .therebymore fully insuring discharge of the powdered material carried down the inclined bottom surface 25 of the interior of the tank.

The tank 18 is provided with conventionalloading domes 26 through which powdered material maybe inserted in thetank 18, the covers 28 of the domes being first removed for the purpose.

Tank 18 has rigidly secured'to its outside bottom a longitudinal supporting beam 30 adapted to, at the rear of the machine, rest between oppositely disposed jaw castings 32 carried, respectively, on the car sills 10. Each casting 32 is provided with a V-shaped, transverse top notch 34, entered by -a laterally extending tooth 86, protruding from the casting 38, secured to the lower side of the tank by any suitable means as, for instance, the bolts or rivets 40.

The result of the construction just described is that when the tank 18 is in horizontal position, the teeth 36 holdit against longitudinal movement on the car body and that the beam 30 by engagement with jaws 32 holds the tank against lateral movement.

As a convenient means for tilting the tank 18 to cause discharge of the-contents of the car through discharge pipe 16, controlled by valve 42,-the sides of the tank are provided with oppositely disposed, laterally protruding trunnions 44, each one of which is selectively engageable by the lifting block 46 of a conventional form of stationary lifting jack 48 located immediately adjacent to the part of track 14 which is adjacent to the point where the tank is to be unloaded. In conventional manner, each one of these lifting jacks includes an upright, rotatable screw '50 threaded through lifting block 46. Each screw 50 is conventionally rotatable in either direction by power from an external source conventionally supplied to the screw in any conventional manner as, for instance,

by the worm wheel 52 and worm 54, operatively appliedto the lowerend of the screw. Each lifting block 46 can be carried downward on the screw 50 to a point below the position of the adjacent trunnion 44 when the tank is in full line position of Figure 1 thereby allowing the tank car to be moved along track 14 to or from the loading position without interference of the blocks 46 with the trunnions 44, except when unloading of the tank is to take place,

In the operation of the mechanism of this invention, a oar, having its tank 18 in the full line position of Figure 1 and loaded with powdered material, is moved by any suitable source of power as, for instance, an ordinary locomotive along track 14 until trunnions 44 are directly above the blocks 46 on the two oppositely disposed cranes 48. Thevoperator now starts the cranes or jacks 48 to rotate the screws 50 to raise the blocks 46 to engage and pick up the trunnions 44 and to eventually tilt the tank 18 from the full line to the dotted line position of Figure 1. In this latter position, the operator opens valve 42 thereby allowing the contents of the tank to slip out of the tank through conical end member 22 .to and through discharge port 16. During the elevation of the trunnions 44, the car wheels 12 and the entire ,car mechanism supported by it, have moved to the left, as shown in Fig. 1 from the fullline to the dotted line position, and during this movement, the discharge spout or port 16 has moved downward from the full line to the dotted line position of Figure 1, wherein the spout itself is below the tops of the sills 10 of the car. Because of this possible depression of the discharge port 16, due to the distorted conical form of the end member 22, the tank 18 is elevated much more sharply than would otherwise be possible,'with the result that load material in the tank flows more freely down the bottom surface 25 of the interior of the tank to and through the discharge port 16.

After the tank has been discharged in the manner described, an operator manipulates the jacks 48 to lower the blocks 46, consequentl the trunnions 44 and the tank 18, until rst the tank reaches normalffull line position of Figure 1, and, second, the blocks 46 are below and clear of the trunnions 44, whereupon the car can be drawn away along track 14 for reloading.

By providing the elevating jacks 48, ad-

jacent to the unloading station for the car, the car itself requires no tilting equipment for the tank 18, with the result the complete device of this invention may be made and operated more economically than. prior devices. I, v

While the device is shown and described as applied to tank cars traveling on rails, it is, of course, applicable to other vehicles. Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1 In mechanism of the class described, in

combination with a transporting vehicle, a tank extending lengthwise of the vehicle, a transverse horizontal pivotal connection between one end of, the vehicle about which the tank may be tilted in a-vertical plane and, a distorted, conical spout end for the pivoted end of the tank having an end discharge port located at one sideof the'tank and vehicle. I a

2. In mechanism of the class described, in combination with a transporting vehicle, a tank extending lengthwiseof the vehicle, a transverse horizontal pivotal connection between one end of the vehicleabout which the tank may be tilted in a vertical plane, a distorted, conical spout end for the pivoted end of the tank having an end discharge pgrt located at one side of the tank and Veh1Cl,-'

3. In mechanism of the class described, in

combination with a transporting vehicle, a tank extending lengthwise of the vehicle, a transverse horizontal'pivotal connection between one end of the vehicle about which the tank may be tilted in a vertical plane, a distorted, conical spout end for the pivoted end of the tank having an end discharge port located at one side of the tank and vehlcle, and means on the tank engageable by lifting means normally separate from the tank and vehicle for tilting the tank.

4. In mechanism of the class described, in combination with a transporting vehicle, a tank extending lengthwise of the vehicle. a transverse, horizontal, pivotal connection between one end of'the vehicle about which the tank maybe tilted in a vertical plane, a distorted, conical spout end for the pivoted end of the tank having an end discharge port located atone side of the tank and vehicle, separable, retaining devices adjacent the opposite end of the tank securing the tank when in lowered position against lateral and longitudinal movement with reference to the vehicle, and means on the tank engageable by lifting means normally separate from the tank and vehicle for tilting the tank.

5. In mechanism of the class described, in

plying said lifting jacks to said second end of the tank for the purposes set forth.

hIn mechanism of the class described, in rombination with a station or location at of operative position with reference to said jack, a tank onsaid vehicle, provided withdischarge'port, a pivotal connection between the tank and vehicle adi'acent the port,rabout X of the tank. may be:

which the opposite en elevated, and means' detaohably applying said lifting jack to said second end of the tank for the purposes set forth. In witness whereof, Ihave hereunto subscribed-my name.

AUBREY J. GRINDLE. 

